These Times are Sent to Try Mens Souls
by thedriverpicksthemusic
Summary: AU: Bruce Wayne has a son named Carter. A son who has a knack for getting in trouble, which, of course, Bruce blames on his son's best friend. Letting Carter hang out with Wally was definantly not one of his better ideas.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Okay, well first let me say that this author's note is going to be pretty long, so please just bear with me. First off I wanted to warn you that this story will probably take a while due to the fact that right now I only have a vague idea of where I'm going with it. I just wanted to get this chapter up here to see how people responded to it before I really started writing.

Secondly I wanted to warn you about Carter. I'm not normally a big fan of added characters that mess with the whole show or story-line or whatever, but most of the time I at least read to see if I like it, so please give this a chance.

Carter popped into my head almost a year ago while I was watching _Batman and Robin _and hasn't left me alone since. I really like the idea of Robin, but I never really liked any of the Robins in the comics or movies, so I think that's how he got started. So I have a whole background for him, which will be present throughout the story and then a bunch of other stories that just sort of formed in my head.

Any way, I just wanted to explain and ask you to give this try and if it's not your sort of thing then that's cool with me.

Thanks if you actually read all this, and if you still want to read my story after all this. ; )

I own nothing. Not even the title, I borrowed it from one of my favorite songs. Bet you can't guess which one without using Google. ; ) Ok, well Carter belongs to me…much to his misfortune. Hehe.

– Driverpicksthemusic

* * *

Carter's P.O.V.

Carter Wayne had experienced more than his fair share of shitty events. Sure, he hadn't lost _both_ his parents like dad had, but what happened to him still sucked. There was no denying that. No denying that watching a building explode, when you know your mom is inside, at seven years old is one of the worst things that a person could ever witness.

That day, the one where Carter watched half his world become consumed in greedy, ravenous flames, happened to be exactly eleven years ago today. So, all in all…Carter was not in a good mood at present.

As for punching Adam Docker in the face, well Carter felt he was completely justified in what he'd done. The Dean?...not so much.

"You're a good kid Carter; great in fact. I'd be hard pressed to find a student with talent, intelligence and personality equal to your own. So of course you can understand why I'm confused as to why you punched Mr. Docker." Carter remained silent, glaring icily out the window; so the Dean pressed on.

"I don't want to punish you Carter, so please, help me understand." Still the angry teen refused to answer and a tension-filled silence settle over the small office. Unnerved by the uncomfortable quiet Dean Wilkins picked up one the pens on his desk and began to roll it between his fingers.

Carter's ever diligent eyes were drawn to the movement. For a few long moments he took in the well organized desk. Its dark surface was mostly empty save for the pens, a few manila folders and the shiny name plate pronouncing that the desk belonged to one Dean Gregory Wilkins.

Finally he looked up, meeting Dean Wilkins' eyes. Being here was a waste of Carter's time. He wanted out. But he sure as Hell wasn't about to explain himself to the Dean in order to leave. He refused to that for two very good reasons. The first was that the Dean wouldn't understand. He would try sure, would act sympathetic, but he could never really understand. Wilkins hadn't watched his mother die. The second reason, well Carter was just about to voice that one.

"You know Dean Wilkins, I don't mean any disrespect," That was a lie. In all truthfulness Carter had no respect for this man, or this school. He just pretended to because he had to. "But we both know that all of this is just a waste of our time. Even if you could understand my reason you'd still have to punish me for fighting. So why don't we skip the part where I try to explain and apologize for something I'm not sorry about and just bring my dad in here so you can accept some 'generous' donation and forget this ever happened."

Gregory Wilkins looked utterly shocked. The pen he'd been toying with slipped from his fingers, rolling off the desk and onto the floor, as he floundered for something to say. Carter rolled his eyes and pushed himself up out of the chair.

"I'll send my dad in. Goodbye Mr. Wilkins," he said shortly as he reached for the cool doorknob.

"Uh, v-very well Carter. I better not catch you fighting again," he added hurriedly, some what uncertain as he straitened his tie. Carter ignored him and stepped into the hall.

"Carter!" Bruce snapped sternly as he walked down the corridor toward the dark haired boy. His son just glanced coldly at him, on his way to take a seat across the hall from the Dean's office.

"Just go pay him off so we can leave," Carter grumbled closing his eyes and leaning his head back against the wall.

He felt Bruce's eyes on him for a long moment before he finally turned to enter Wilkins' office. They'd be having a long talk once they got home.

Cater listened to the door close and frustrated, banged his head lightly against the wall. It didn't matter what year it was, today always sucked!

* * *

Bruce's P.O.V.

Bruce Wayne was a very busy man. And if there was one thing he hated, it was being interrupted while he was working. Especially today. Coming in to the office was the last thing he'd wanted to do when he'd forced himself out of bed this morning, but Fox had called saying that there was some work that had to be done for the big conference tomorrow. So he'd come in, begrudgingly typing up his paper, when all he wanted to do was spend the entire day in the cave hopelessly trying to bury the hurt of losing Rachel all those years ago.

"Mr. Wayne?" The voice came over the intercom sounding as though she were talking into a tin can. Bruce cringed. _You would think a company as technologically advanced as Wayne Enterprises would have better quality intercoms. _He thought irritably. _And that Gwen would know better than to interrupt me while I'm working._

"Yes," Bruce snapped back. He just wanted to finish typing and go home.

"Your son's school is on line one," she replied hastily.

"All right." Bruce finished typing his sentence and picked up the phone. "Bruce Wayne speaking."

"Um, hello Mr. Wayne, this is Dean Gregory Wilkins, I was calling about a, er recent…incident involving your son."

"Incident? Did something happen to Carter?"

"More of something Carter did Mr. Wayne. It would seem that your son started a fist fight." Bruce was shocked. The school normally only called to let him know of some achievement of scholarship Carter had received. Not to tell him his son had been fighting at school. Carter didn't do that sort of thing, he –

Bruce's eyes ghosted over the calendar on the big desk in front of him. _Damn!_ He thought. _I should have never made Carter go to school today. He gets as bad as me whenever this date rolls around. _Bruce sighed.

"Give me half an hour to finish up some work and then I'll come down to the school."

"Of course Mr. Wayne. I'm sorry that you have to come down here for such a reason, it's very unusual for a student like your son."

"I'm sorry too. Goodbye Mr. Wilkins."

"Goodbye Mr. Wayne." Bruce set the phone back in its cradle and pinched the bridge of his nose. _Damn Interruptions._

_

* * *

_

**A/N (again):** Ok, well here it is. Forgive me for any grammar mistakes, I wrote and edited this late at night and I was in a bit of a hurry. ; ) I hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please leave me a review and let me know what you thought.

And also let me say, that Carter isn't really a brat. I know he kind of comes off as one, but you have to remember, he is Batman's son, and this is the anniversery his mom's death. His real character will come out in the next few chapters. Oh, and...Wally makes an appearance in the next chapter!! YAY!!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Except Carter of course, what an unlucky kid.

* * *

Bruce's P.O.V.

After a long talk with the Dean, signing away a fairly large sum of money, and a very tense car ride back to Wayne Manor Bruce was very happy to be home. He had let Carter wander off to the garage deciding he was too tired and irate to deal with his son at the moment. All he wanted to do was sit in the cave and work, where he could just get away from everything and everyone. Unfortunately even the cave was not a place of absolute seclusion for Bruce anymore.

* * *

Wally's P.O.V.

"Hey Bats! What's up?" Wally asked happily as he leaned over the Dark Knight's shoulder to peek at the computer screen. However, the screen went black before the speedster really had a chance to see much of anything.

"What do you want Wally?" Bruce growled, turning to look up at the annoyingly bright young man, now leaning against the computer consol.

"I was looking for Carter actually. Alfred told me about what happened at the school, I figured the two you would be having a go at it down here," the red head replied with a shrug. Bruce's jaw tightened and he looked back to the empty monitor.

Wally watched all this, concern starting to replace his usual grin. He didn't think what had happened at school had been all that bad. Maybe he was wrong. Wally tapped his foot as he thought. There had to be something else, something that had happened recently that he'd missed.

And then it hit him. The brief flash of the newspaper article before the screen went blank and today's date. Ah, so there was the problem with the bat-clan. Rachel Dawes.

"Wally!" The boy glanced up at Bruce's annoyed face. "You are going to wear a hole in the floor, so stop it!" Wally grinned sheepishly and slowed the tapping of his foot. He hadn't even realized he'd let it go that fast. "Carter's working on his car."

"Should've known," Wally commented as he pushed himself off the computer. "He always works on his car when he's having a 'Bat Day'."

"Having a what?" Bruce growled spinning around the face the young hero. Wally's eyes widened and he gulped. "Explain. Now, West."

"A uh, 'Bat Day'. Because uh, whenever Carter has a bad day he acts like Batman. So I replaced the, er,'d' with a 't' to …to…I'mgonnafindCarternowbye." Wally finished quickly and had already disappeared from the Cave before Bruce could even think of a reply.

* * *

When Wally entered the garage Carter was under the hood of a beat up looking car. To anyone else the car would just look like an old piece of junk, but Wally used to be a mechanic and he new a thing or two about cars. He knew enough to know that this car was a 1967 Chevy Impala with a big block 427 engine. When this car was finished it was going to be one heck of a classic.

However, judging by the profanity and loud noises coming from under the hood Wally was having doubts that the car would be finished anytime in this century.

"This isn't even the right part! Damn it! I know I ordered the right fu-"

"Carter," Wally said quickly, cutting off his friend's rant. Cater jerked up and the hood bounced in time with a loud 'thunk'. There was more cussing and then Carter appeared rubbing the back of his head. "You all right?" the red head asked, taking a step closer to the young man. "I heard you were having a 'Bat Day'."

Wally squirmed under the intense glare Carter was giving him. He and Bruce had the most intense gaze, which Wally theorized was because they had the same piercing blue eyes.

"I'm fine," the raven haired boy replied going around the car to get a different tool. He glanced once more at Wally before disappearing under the hood again. "So you can go back to Central City." Wally clenched his jaw and moved to lean on the car.

"I'm not going anywhere buddy, so you better start talking."

* * *

Carter's P.O. V.

He waited with his wrench poised over the engine, listening for Wally's retreating footsteps and instead found his friend moving closer. Carter clenched the tool tighter. Why couldn't people just leave him alone today? Why did everyone insist on him talking when he didn't want to?

"I don't want to talk about it West. So just get out. Now," he growled from his frozen position, hovering over the engine.

"I'm not going to lie, it's really creepy how much you sound like your dad right now," Wally commented with a shudder.

Carter pulled himself slowly out from under the hood and dropped the wrench back in the tool box.

"You aren't going to leave are you?" he asked. Wally grinned and threw a towel, hitting Carter square in the face. He removed the towel with a roll of his eyes and began wiping the grime off his hands. Slowly Carter moved to stand next to the red head.

"I'm not going to talk about it though. I've talked enough, I'm done. Now all I want is for people to leave me alone."

"I get that, so I'm not going to push you. I just think that you shouldn't go around punching people cause you're pissed off. It doesn't suit you," he joked and bumped Carter's arm.

One side of Carter's mouth pulled up a bit. "He had it coming. I would have punched him eventually if I didn't today." Wally chuckled.

"I know you like to be left alone today, but this really couldn't wait." Carter glanced up at Wally and actually looked at him for the first time since he'd entered the garage. There was no missing the gleam in Wally's eyes that was present only when he was up to something. And judging by the grin plastered on his face Carter guessed it was something big.

"You and Ollie cook up something good?" he asked with the smallest of smiles tugging at his mouth.

"Good?" Wally scoffed. "This is huge, and we're going to need your help. So I know today sucks, but you have to come and at least try to have fun." Wally punched him light in the arm and pushed off the car. "Come on, Ollie is waiting for us."

Carter bit his lip and then nodded. _Why the Hell not? Might as well find some less stressful way to blow off steam._ He followed Wally back towards the house.

"Dad's still in the cave you know," he said slyly when he caught up to the speedster.

"You know maybe I'll just meet you at the tower." Wally replied nervously turning toward the gate. Carter grabbed his arm and dragged him back towards the house.

"I don't think so. This is your punishment for bugging me today." Carter grinned. Watching Dad scare the crap out of Wally was going to make today so much better.

* * *

**A/N: **Okay, well for those of you who liked Carter and the first chapter, here is chapter two. Wally and Carter are best friends in this, so most of this story will be the two of them together. They enjoy similar things. ; ) … things like pranks on people in the tower. Hint hint...

The next chapter should be a bit lighter, what with Wally, Ollie, and Carter teaming up. Hope you enjoyed this! Please review!!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own nothing with the exception of Carter.

Oh, and I know it say's Robin's P.O.V. down below, it's still Carter, he's just in costume at the time. It just helps me and hopefully you, keep track.

* * *

Bruce's P.O.V.

Bruce had known that eventually Carter and Wally would end up back in the cave. He'd been offhandedly watching them from the garage's security camera and he knew when he saw Carter smirk as they left, he knew that they'd be coming back down here.

Bruce smiled coldly from the shadows as he watched Wally follow his son cagily down the stairs into the cave.

"Dude, where's your dad?" Wally whispered, his eyes darting around the large cavern nervously. Carter shrugged as he pulled his costume from its case. It was similar to Batman's, only instead of the bat insignia emblazoned across the front, Robin's had red 'R' in a circle off to left side. "Maybe he went upstairs," Wally suggested hopefully.

Bruce smirked. _Not a chance_, he thought. Silently, Wayne crept through the shadows coming to a halt right behind the red head and slipped a Bat-a-rang into the back pocket of the speedster's jeans.

"Boo," he whispered and Wally yelped, jumping a good foot in the air. He whirled around wildly, staring wide-eyed at the smirking billionaire. Wally laughed nervously, letting his heart get back to normal.

"Good one Bats. And uh, now that you have that out of your system I'm going to go ahead and leave," Wally said anxiously, backing away from the Dark Knight.

"I don't think so West." Wally gulped. "You're about the have a 'Bat Day'," Bruce informed him and pressed a button on a small remote in the palm of his hand. A loud screeching accompanied by the flapping of wings descended from the ceiling of the cave.

"Gah! Bats!!" Wally shrieked as hundreds of the tiny creatures flew directly for him. Carter laughed and went to change into his costume, leaving Bruce to enjoy his revenge.

* * *

Robin's P.O.V.

Ollie was on duty at the Metro Tower today, and Flash had duty later that night, so they decided to meet there. The three of them were currently sitting in a booth in the far corner of the cafeteria, Green Arrow and Flash having just revealed their latest plan to a stunned Robin.

"Wait, you want to do what now?" Carter asked incredulously, looking back and forth at Wally and Ollie.

"Come on Robin, you have to help." The red-clad hero pleaded. "This thing is going to be epic." Carter sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"I get that, I mean it is a great plan. But when dad finds out…come on Wally, you know how much he flipped on you after the 'Bat Day' thing," the boy wonder tried, but Wally only shuddered a bit, undeterred from his original goal. It wasn't that he didn't want to do the prank. It really would be epic, not to mention hilarious. But when dad found out who pulled it, and he would, Carter was dead.

"Look kid, you don't have to do much," the archer told him. "We just need you to send us a copy of video." Ollie smiled mischievously just thinking about their latest prank.

"And you know, hack in and play it over the PA," Flash added quickly. Both men stared at him with big smiles and pleading eyes.

"Are you kidding me?" Carter nearly exploded. They wanted him to hack the Watchtower and probably the Metro Tower. Not that he couldn't do it, but still. "If anyone is going to get caught doing this it's going to be the one who sets it to play over the intercom," he pointed out a little angrily. He loved pranks, but something like this, especially where it would be sorely obvious that he was involved, would send Dad over the edge.

"Kid, I know you're worried about getting caught, I mean Flash and I don't have to live with the big bad Bat, but you know we got banned from using the intercom after the, uh, little…mishap last week."

"Besides," the speedster continued. "GA and I don't know how to make it so no one can turn the thing off. We don't have amazing hacking skills like you do." Wally grinned again and then popped a few fries into his mouth.

Carter knew they weren't going to let up soon. They really wanted to do this, and they needed him. They would just keep begging and finding new reasons they needed him until he eventually cracked. _So why not just give in now? _He thought with an imperceptible shrug.

"Fine," Robin said. The two heroes across the table shared a high-five in celebration. "But on one condition," the young hero continued, eyeing them warily. "We do it on a day when I know for sure Batman won't be on either Tower."

"Awe, come on," Wally whined. "If Bats doesn't hear it, then it ruins half the fun."

"If Dad is on one of the Towers when it comes on, he'll find a computer and shut it off right away. He's still better at hacking than I am, and he knows how all those systems work better than I do. Besides, if he isn't there, it gives me time to hack the security cameras too, and that will at least give me a day or two to hide before he sees it was me," Carter explained.

The two men opposite of him shared a long look and then shrugged.

"Deal," the agreed in unison. Carter shared in their grin this time. As long as Dad had sometime to cool off, he should be okay.

Well, he hoped he'd be okay anyway.

"So," Robin began after a moment, "how do you know Supes will do his part?" The blonde billionaire grinned and leaned back against the seat.

"Lois promised she would get us what she needed," he replied wickedly.

"Yeah, what'd the boy scout do to her this time?" Carter asked. He knew Lois well enough to know that while she enjoyed a good prank, she normally had a reason rather than the just-for-the-fun-of-it attitude they tended to act with.

"Something about getting annoyed with how many times he'd left dates, or stood her up recently," the speedster threw out casually.

"Last I heard they were having a fight about Metropolis not needing Superman for every little thing, and how he had plenty of heroes on the Towers who could fill in. Sounded pretty nasty," Ollie commented with a small shudder. He knew Lois pretty well too.

"When's Bats supposed to make an appearance next?" Flash asked. Robin shrugged in response.

"I'd have to look. When's Lois going to give you the tape?"

"She said they're going out tomorrow night, and she'd have it the next morning. Then Arrow's going to have it all edited together." Wally grinned excitedly and reached for another handful of fries.

Carter finally relaxed and sat back into the seat.

"I'll find out about dad and let you know tonight," he told the older heroes.

"Sweet," Wally replied.

"Sounds good." Queen smirked.

_We are all going to die_, Carter thought.

* * *

**A/N:** All right, well I had a lot of fun with this chapter, so I hope you did too. Things are kind of light and goofy right now, and I enjoy that, but this fic has an actual sort of serious plot in it somewhere. I will hopefully be getting around to starting the true plot in the next chapter. But, seeing as school is starting back up tomorrow, you never know what's going to happen.

Anyway, thanks for those of you who are reading this. Please Review!!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I know, it's been forever. I couldn't get this going where i wanted it to, so I had to do a lot of rewriting and revamping. Thanks for those of you who are sticking with this. I hope you like it. Please let me know what you think! And remember, I own nothing.

* * *

Robin's P.O.V.

"How did Lois get him to do this?" Carter asked with a chuckle as he typed rapidly, changing the security tapes without being detected.

"Apparently the big guy is really into Karaoke," Arrow replied casually as he glanced back out into the hallway. The two of them could hear Wally's snickering over the privet communications line they were using.

Robin hit enter and cracked his knuckles. All he had left to do was play the tape over the intercom and set it on a loop that could only be stopped with a code. A code only he was privy too.

"You almost done in there?" asked Flash suddenly from his position in the hallway. "I think someone is coming."

The boy wonder glanced from the computer screen to the doorway. "Just a minute more Flash. If someone comes, distract them," he replied turning back to the screen, typing with a bit more urgency than previously.

Flash's voice wafted in from the hallway.

"Hey Shay, what's up?" his voice sounded slightly off, maybe a tad nervous, but Robin doubted anyone could really tell unless they were listening for it.

"I was looking for Carter," the winged hero replied, she paused for a minute. "What are you doing back here?" she asked, her voice suddenly laced with suspicion.

"What? Is it illegal for me to walk down hallways now?" The speedy hero asked indignantly, but his voice had grown louder. Flash was trying to warn them to hurry up and get out now.

"Come on kid, we don't need her coming back to investigate," Arrow urged moving closer to the door.

"I'm done," Carter hissed back. "But I can't exactly hit play and then just walk out of here with you while she's in the hall. She'll know it was us!"

"Damn," Arrow breathed. He reached up to his ear piece. "Flash you better get rid of her now if you don't want to get caught. The kid's all ready to go."

"I'm supposed to meet him in the cafeteria in a few minutes. Why don't you come with me?" Wally asked, his words running together in his hurry to get them out.

Robin could picture Shayera eyeing Flash skeptically, glancing past him into the hallway. He prayed she would go with him.

"All right," she conceded. Robin and Green Arrow listened to their fading footsteps.

"Let's hurry it up kid." Ollie came back to stand next to Carter again, looking at the screen over his shoulder. Robin entered the code and then logged off the computer.

"It'll play every hour," he told Arrow as they walked out of the room. "Now, do me a favor and go tell Shayera I got called back to Gotham," Robin instructed turning to head for the Javelin Bay.

"Come on, you have to hear it at least once," the archer called after him.

Carter turned around and studied they older man for long moment. He did kind of want to stick around and hear. And then he thought of his dad, and of Superman. Bruce would have no second thoughts about handing his ass over to the Man of Steel after he was done with him. Robin shook his head.

"No way, I want to be as far from this tower as possible when that thing starts playing." The young hero turned and hurried to the Javelin Bay.

* * *

Flash's P.O.V.

Shayera had just left the cafeteria after the news of Robin's departure when the intercom crackled to life. Flash looked excitedly at his blond friend. _This has got to be the greatest prank we've ever pulled._ The young man thought as a soft, deep voice filled the air.

"Justice League, for your listening pleasure we give the voices of Batman and Superman in…

"_Am I blue?" _Batman's voice wafted out of the speakers.

"_Am I blue?"_ Superman followed.

"_Ain't these tears in my eyes telling you…?"_ The two heroes' voices mixed together creating a surprisingly pleasant duet.

"I never realized Bruce had such a nice singing voice." Diana's voice came from somewhere over Flash's shoulder. He turned to look at her with a huge grin.

"Or that Supes sang so high," Wally giggled.

Diana looked Flash and GA over and raised a slender eyebrow.

"I'm assuming this is your work," she stated with a slight frown.

"Come on Di, you have to admit that this is pretty funny," Wally tried, looking up at her with wide pleading eyes. The corner of the princess's mouth twitched but she said nothing.

"As funny as it is," the emerald archer interjected. "Flash and I can't take credit. We got banned from the intercom, haven't touched a computer since. Honest."

The Amazonian looked at Queen for a long moment. She knew the two of them wouldn't lie to her, even if they wouldn't admit it, she scared them. Still, that didn't mean they were completely innocent.

Diana smiled.

"Whoever did this, I feel sorry for what happens to them when they get caught," she said and left the cafeteria.

The two pranksters stood listening to the odd duet for a long moment before glancing at each other.

"Thinking about what happens when they find out makes this a hell of a lot less funny," Wally mused with a gulp. The arched threw a nervous glance at the door. Superman would come looking for them first. Even if he didn't have any proof yet, he would suspect them.

"Robin was smart to leave. I think we should take a lesson out of his book," Arrow suggested. Wally nodded and grabbed his friend's shoulder.

"Let's just hope we don't run into the Boy Scout on the way there," Wally remarked and whisked his friend away toward the transporter pads.

* * *

Superman's P.O.V.

Clark had thought it was strange when Lois had been so insistent that he sing "Am I Blue?" the other night, but this…he had never suspected this.

As soon as his own voice had drifted out of the speakers he had known who was to blame. He just hoped he could get to them before Bruce did. He wanted there to be something left to punish.

Angrily Superman slammed a fist down on the table. He was really getting sick of all their pranks.

"Find them," he demanded of J'onn who had paused in his work to listen to the song with an amused smile. They had taken great care to keep this one from him.

"They're in the cafeteria," Diana announced as she entered the conference room. "Arrow and Flash claim they're innocent though."

"And Robin?" he asked standing up.

"In Gotham," J'onn replied. Superman scowled deeper.

"I guess Bruce gets him first then." He glanced back at J'onn and Diana. "I suppose someone better tell him," he considered and then paused at the door, "But only _after_ I deal with Wally and Ollie." The Man of Steel headed for the cafeteria at super speed.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** Yay for long, quiet car rides and roommates who like to go to bed early when you stay up late. Yay in that it means you have more time to think and in my case, work out plots! But before I begin I believe it is time for a little bit of background on Carter.

I know this story is labeled as a Justice League story, and it is, I promise, but most of Carter's background is based off of _Batman Begins_ and _Dark Knight_. This is because I had the idea of Carter and who he was as a person, but I could never quite figure out his history until after I saw both those movies and then it kind of fell into place.

So, basically, when Bruce Wayne came back from Princeton for the trial of his parents' murder he and Rachel Dawes spent a night together. Then Bruce left again before she even knew she was pregnant. From then on she raised the boy, frequently having Alfred or the Gordon's baby-sit him. Then when Bruce came back he wanted to help raise his son, so Carter spent as much time with him as possible. Then after his mom was killed (by the Joker like in _Dark Knight_) he went to live with Bruce. That's pretty much it in a nutshell, I mean of course I have more detail then that, but it will hopefully make it into the story.

Ok, enough rambling from me…onward with Chapter 5! Carter's dream/memory is in italics.

* * *

Carter's P.O.V.

"Carter." The boy looked up from replacing his costume to see his dad getting up from the bat-computer.

"Oh, uh, hey dad," he replied nervously. The Watchtower couldn't have called could they? "What's up?" Carter shifted uneasily, inching towards the stairs in case he needed to make a quick get away. Bruce eyed his son suspiciously before moving to block his path.

"We need to talk about the other day. About what happened at school." Carter stiffened and stood straighter to match his dad's serious stature.

"There isn't anything to talk about," he stated a bit coldly. Carter really didn't want to get into this again. Especially not when he was so close to locking all the painful memories back up.

"You punched someone," Bruce shot back dryly, his voice edging ever closer to his Batman tone.

"He was being an ass, like always, and I just wasn't in the mood, so I hit him okay. I understand that it wasn't the smartest thing I could have done, but I really don't care."

"Look, I know it hurts, I know loosing your mother like that wasn't easy, but that is no excuse for what you did." Carter opened his mouth to retaliate, his stance shifting into the offensive, but Bruce put up a hand and fixed the boy with a hard glare. "Whatever you're about to say, don't. You are going to have to learn that-"

"I'm sorry to interrupt sir, but Commissioner Gordon is on the phone and he says it's urgent." The two men turned to look at the elderly butler at the top of the stairs.

"As soon as I'm done we are going to finish this conversation," Bruce told the young man as he headed for the stairs. Carter huffed out a "fine" and followed up behind him.

"Incidentally, Master Wally is currently hiding in your bedroom," Alfred quietly informed the younger Wayne. Carter rolled his eyes, but headed up to see his friend despite his annoyance.

"Of all the place on Earth that you could hide, you come here. Are you insane?" Carter asked as he entered his room.

"Dude, I didn't know what else to do. Supes is already hunting us down. Please, you have to help me," Wally pleaded. The dark-haired boy eyed his friend, thinking. While it was Wally's own fault that he was being hunted, he was pretty sure his friend would have helped him if he had been in trouble.

"The only rooms we use on this floor are my, dad, and Alfred's bedrooms. So pick a room (preferably one far from Dad's) and hide out there. I'll sneak you some food up later."

"How you managed to turn out so much cooler than your dad I'll never know, but I'm glad it happened," Wally stated with a grin. "Thanks man, I totally owe you one," he called as he sped out of the room.

Carter shook his head and let out an exasperated sigh. They were so going to die.

Wondering which vacant room Wally had chosen Carter headed downstairs to face his fathers angry wrath once more.

However, instead of finding Bruce waiting at the bottom of the stairs with his icy blue stare, Carter found his dad sitting next to the phone, nervously running a hand through his night black hair.

"Is something wrong with the Gordons?" the boy asked, immediately fearing that some misfortune had befallen the life-long friends.

Bruce shook his head and looked at his son uncertainly. There was something there in his eyes, some emotion that Carter couldn't quite put his finger on.

"No, Jim called to, um, to warn me really. He wanted me to keep a close eye on you because he's just gotten word that Harvey Dent is back."

The eighteen year old froze, his mind fighting to keep long buried memories of the mad ex-D.A. locked away.

Bruce slowly reached out and put a comforting hand on his son's shoulder.

"He doesn't know anything for sure; he just wanted us to be aware. Just in case." 'But it doesn't really matter,' Bruce thought, 'if that man tries to come near you again, if he even thinks about trying to take you from me, I will kill him.'

* * *

After the finishing of Dad's lecture (which due to the news of Dent's return turned out to be rather short) Carter had spent the rest of his night trying to sneak food to his friend. It would have been much easier if the speedster didn't eat so damn much. Once Dad asked him what he was doing, and he really thought he was going to get caught, but after some lame excuse Bruce had left him alone.

Bruce had told his son he was going out on patrol alone tonight and Carter knew better than to try and argue. One more food trip up to Wally's current hiding place and then Carter went to bed. The news about the former D.A. had shaken him, but he ended up falling asleep relatively quickly.

_The seven year old huddled on the ground in the shadow of the mad man that was currently holding him and three other people captive. The little boy didn't understand. Just days ago this man had been playing with him, making him laugh and now he was being mean, making him cry._

_The man had come to the pent house Bruce and his son Carter were currently living in and stole away the little boy. Carter had fought desperately against him, afraid that he might never see his dad again in the same way he would never see his mom. But after the kidnapper had knocked Alfred unconscious, the eight year old had become too frightened to do anything that might get him hurt. _

_On the car ride to the burnt warehouse in which they currently sat Mrs. Gordon had tried to comfort him, but she had her own two children to worry about. So Carter tried to be like his dad, tried to be like Batman and sucked it up, putting on the bravest face he could manage. Inside however nothing had changed, the kid was more frightened than he had ever been in his entire life._

_When Jim Gordon arrived looking anxious and frightened Carter's heart sank further. If a police man as strong and good as Jim was could be so scared of someone then perhaps there was no hope. But when he grabbed Jimmy something inside welled up and pushed past the fear._

"_Leave him alone Harvey," the eight year old demanded in a trembling voice._

"_Shut up kid," the two faced man replied without so much as a glance._

_Carter closed his eyes for a moment and tried to find the part of him that was like Batman. If dad could have that much courage, then so could he._

"_No, just cause mommy died doesn't mean you get to be a meanie." The little boy was close to tears now. Despite the channeling of his inner Batman, fear had completely taken him over._

"_Carter-" Jim tried to warn him to stop, but Dent had already turned to look at the child sitting bound on the floor next to him._

"_You had better stop and learn to respect me son," he cautioned the boy. Carter had heard this rant in the car already. For some reason he couldn't understand, Harvey thought that Carter was his son and was determined not to let Bruce Wayne steal the only family he had left._

"_I'm not your son," Carter whispered quietly. He just wanted to go home. He wanted to leave the place where his mom had died and curl up in Daddy's lap where the bad things couldn't get to him. _

_Anger flared in Harvey's eyes and he swung his gun down, grip first._

Carter jerked up in bed just before the gun knocked him unconscious. Sweat rolled down his neck and plastered his hair to his head. He hadn't dreamed about being taken by Harvey Dent in few years. Dreaming of it now left a not uncommon uneasy feeling in his stomach.

However instead of the feeling slowly dissipating as it usually did, it seemed to grow almost as though Harvey were still in the room with him. Pushing down the fear that still lingered from the dream Carter got up from bed and silently crossed his room flipping on the light.

There in his doorway stood Bruce Wayne and in his grasp a frightened looking Wally West.

"Dad? What's going on?" the boy asked. Bruce yanked Wally closer as the red-head attempted to flea.

"Oliver is lucky Clark got to him first. You and Wally however, are in for a world of hurt."

"I…" Carter started, backing away from his dad, but really he had no idea what he was going to say.

"Cave, now," Bruce commanded and turned, leaving the room dragging a protesting Flash with him.

* * *

**A/N:** Okay, so I know this is more serious than usual, but now that I have figured out where I'm going it's time to get into the actual plot. Next chapter should have more humor mixed in. Until then, please let me know what you thought!


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Er, hi. Sorry it's been so long. I know...I'm a bad person...however, school will be over for me in two weeks and then I will have all the time in the world for writing. So, I appreciate the patience of all of those still reading this story. Any who...sorry if there are mistakes, I didn't do a great editing job, because I really just wanted to get this posted. Hope you enjoy. Please review and let me know what you think!

Oh, and I own nothing (except Carter, of course).

* * *

Bruce's P.O.V.

Bruce could not believe he son would do something so stupid, so irresponsible. Wally and Oliver he had come to expect it from, but the fact that his son had done something that…embarrassing to him, really irked him.

He tightened his grip on Wally's arm. "Er, Bats, your kind of hurting my arm," Wally commented with a nervous chuckle. Bruce glared at the young man, unconsciously digging his fingers harder into the young man's arm. "Seriously Bats…" Wally's voice held a twinge of pain this time.

Bruce let out an irritated sigh, but loosened his grip slightly. In the part of his mind that wasn't fuming about what his son had done, he wondered why the red head didn't seem more frightened of what was to come. He soon recalled a conversation he'd over heard between Carter and Wally soon after the League had been formed.

The speedster had done something without thinking, a not unusual occurrence, and was questioning his new friend on the kind of punishments the big, bad Bat dolled out.

"They aren't too bad. I mean, Batman isn't all that creative in the punishment department. It's mostly a lot of extra training and patrol. Still, he goes kind of crazy with that, so you might want to watch yourself around him," Carter had told Wally with an almost disinterested shrug.

Bruce gritted his teeth. Creative or not, the three of them were going to learn their lesson, and they were going to learn it well.

Footsteps could be heard on the stairs behind them and from the corner of his eye the angry hero saw Wally peek over his shoulder at the younger Wayne following them into the cave.

Finally the eldest hero came to a stop, pulling the speedster around so they faced Carter, who was coming to a halt a few feet from them.

"I don't see why this is such a problem, Dad," the young man started heatedly. "It was a joke all right, get over it."

Bruce let go of Wally giving him a stern look. "Try to leave and when I find you, and I will find you, I'll break both your legs." The red-head's eyes grew wide and he gulped, staying where Bruce had told him.

"Now," he began turning back to his son, "you had better learn not to speak to me like that."

"Come on, Dad."

"Don't. Carter, I have a reputation to keep. As heroes we have to be serious, people have to know they can depend on us. If we run around doing dumb things, making each other look bad, how are people supposed to be able to look to us for help?"

"Don't give me that bull. People can still look up to us, even if we joke around. As heroes, Dad–"

"I don't think you get this son," Bruce snapped, his voice growing in volume. "This makes Superman and I look bad. How can we keep order, if we are made out to be fools?"

"It's not like it's the first time people have ever heard this!" Carter shot back, practically yelling now. "Zantana showed all sorts of people right after it happened."

That statement stopped the older Wayne in his tracks. "She did?" he asked, bewildered.

"Sure," Wally answered with an amused look. Even with the threat of broken legs he couldn't help but be entertained by the Batman's lack of knowledge in things that were completely obvious. "Why else would Diana have been humming that song all around the Tower just after the whole incident?" Bruce glanced at the young man and then back to his son, pondering what had just been said.

"Look, Dad, I know heroes have a reputation to keep, but what happened on the Tower's with song…it isn't really that big of a deal." Bruce opened his mouth ready to retaliate, but his son put up a hand. "Please just listen. Being a hero means having the weight of the world on you shoulders. Having to carry that kind of burden on you 24/7 would drive anyone crazy. Sometimes, heroes need a break too. Sometimes, Dad, we all need a good laugh, something that reminds us that we're human. Some way for us to connect with regular people, to be relieved of that weight, even if it's just for a moment." Carter fell silent and watched his dad carefully.

To be quite honest, Bruce was at a loss for words. He remained staring at son, impressed at the boy's profound statement. Perhaps Carter understood more then Bruce gave him credit for. And yet, he still did stupid things.

"You know, Carter, you're right." Wally and Carter both stared at Bruce in surprise. "Maybe we do need a good laugh, a reminder that we're people too every once in a while. However, that does not make what the three of you did and less irresponsible or disrespectful."

Carter eyed his dad suspiciously. He knew what was coming. His speech may have been pretty and may have rung true, but they were still in trouble.

"The three of you are going to a rough next few weeks. You're going to train and go on missions until you understand the importance and magnitude of what it is we do. Carter, go put on your suit. Wally, I'll see you at 7:00 a.m. tomorrow in the Metro Tower training room." The two young heroes sighed, and reluctantly left to do as Batman had told them.

* * *

Carter's P.O.V.

Carter Wayne had never been so exhausted in his entire life. Ever since Dad had gotten wind of his singing debut on the Watchtower he'd been running his son ragged. Every spare moment was filled with training or chores or running patrols. The eighteen year old didn't think he'd ever been so happy to climb into bed.

Carter fell into a sleep so deep that he didn't even feel his arms being pulled behind his back until someone was tugging on the rope, binding them together so tight it burned his wrists. The young man immediately tried to jerk into a sitting position, but who ever stood behind him prevented almost humiliatingly easy. If Carter hadn't been as tired as he was it probably would have taken him a lot less time to realize that he could yell for help. However, his slow action led to him being gagged, almost as tightly as he was bound, before he could utter a sound.

The man yanked the dark haired boy roughly from his bed and spun him around to face the bedroom door.

"Come on son," he said quietly. "It's time to go home." Carter froze at the sound of the voice and then immediately jerked forward trying to get away. This was not going to happen again.

"There's no reason to try to run away. I'm not going to hurt you sport," the man said and placed the barrel of a gun to the base of Carter's skull. "As long as you don't give me reason to, that is." The boy stilled again unsure what to do now. God, he wished he could yell for Dad.

"Well, now that we understand each other…" He pushed Carter forward and towards the stairs. Carter glanced around, confused. Were they really going to just walk out the front door? And then he realized that it was late, and this man probably assumed that Dad and Alfred were asleep.

Carter surmised that it had to be pure luck that Dad happened to be walking into the foyer (probably coming up from the cave) at the same time he was being led out. The boy relaxed slightly, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Harvey?" Dad asked, almost in shock. "Dent, what the hell are you doing with my son?" Harvey pulled Carter closer, wrapping one arm around the boy's neck in order to keep him from running and pointed his gun at Bruce's chest.

"Not your son Wayne, mine. I'm taking him home and you aren't going to do a thing about it," Dent told him, slowly moving himself and the young Wayne towards the door.

"Like hell I am!" Bruce snarled moving toward the two-faced man and his son. "Get away from my son right now Harvey!"

"First I lost Rachel and then you came and took away the only family I had left Bruce. That's changing now though. It's time for my son to come home, it's that right sport?" Carter shook his head angrily and brought his foot down on Harvey's toes. Unfortunately, because he was barefooted, it didn't hurt Two Face enough for him to let Carter go.

"If that's going to be your mindset, I believe we need to get rid of this poser." Carter looked wide-eyed from Harvey to his dad, shaking his head vehemently at Harvey's suggestion.

"Harvey-" Bruce started, but he was cut off by the report a gun. Carter watched in shock as his dad fell to the floor, completely still. The boy watched, waiting. Any second now Dad would get back up and stop Harvey…he had too. But he didn't. The only thing that moved was the small puddle of blood that had started forming under Bruce.

Carter gulped. His dad was dead. Suddenly it was very hard to breath and if it hadn't been for Dent's hold around his neck, the young man was fairly certain he would not be standing.

"Well now that that's taken care of, let's go home," Harvey Dent said and led Carter out of Wayne Manor.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Well, here it is. I know it's been a while, but I'm not going to annoy you with excuses. As always, I own nothing, except Carter. Enjoy!

* * *

Alfred's P.O.V.

It was the gun shot that had wakened the faithful butler. And despite the fact that the man jumped lithely from bed and sprinted towards the foyer they room was empty save for the eldest Wayne lying unnaturally still in a pool of blood. The scene made the butler pause, but only for a moment and then he was running down the stairs sliding to a stop next the wounded man.

"Master Bruce? Master Bruce can you hear me?" The butler asked reaching out to search for a pulse. The billionaire remained still and silent, his face alarmingly pale. Alfred pressed harder against the Bruce's neck until he felt it. It was weak, but it was there and that was all that mattered.

The butler quickly pulled off his robe and pressed it to the hole, trying desperately to stop any more bleeding. "Master Bruce, please wake up," he begged, lightly tapping the younger man's cheek.

Bruce's eyelids fluttered and he let out a moan, but otherwise remained motionless. Alfred quickly left Bruce's side and ran for a phone bringing it back as quickly as he could so he could continue to apply pressure.

It wasn't until a few minutes after he had hung up with the ambulance that the older Wayne finally came around. He was groggy and seemed to be having a hard time staying conscious, but Alfred was grateful he was awake at all.

"Master Bruce there's an ambulance on the way; you're going to be just fine. But please Sir, what happened?"

"Carter?" Bruce breathed, his eyes searching the room frantically.

"Sir?"

"Where's C-Carter?" he asked in a pained voice.

Alfred looked around suddenly worried. "He isn't in his room?" he asked, somewhat hoping that Bruce was just delirious.

"Harvey…Harvey Dent took him," Bruce stated breathily. Sirens could be heard in the distance, Alfred assumed the must be turning up the drive now. "I have to get him back Alfred. We…I can't let Dent…not again." Bruce's eyes rolled back into his head, and he stilled again.

"Dear me," Alfred sighed, looking towards the door.

* * *

Clark's P.O.V.

Clark Kent sighed and pushed his glasses back up his nose. He was tired, that was all there was to it, and as worried as he was about his friends, Bruce was really starting to grate on his last nerve. Not only had he had to argue with the doctor for nearly half an hour just to get in to see Bruce, but the Man of Steel had spent the last hour unsuccessfully trying to convince the stubborn Bat that the best thing for him to do right now was to stay in the hospital and heal.

"We've gone over this I don't know how many times Bruce, but you can't leave." Wayne glared at him and opened his mouth, but Clark quickly cut him off. "I understand that you are worried about Carter. We all are Bruce. But we're handling this. Wally has been out there searching Gotham since the moment we heard, and the others are out there too now. We won't let anything happen to him."

"Damn it Kent that psycho has my son. Again! I promised Carter I wouldn't let that man near him and now Dent's taken him who-knows-where," he snarled at the reporter. Clark sighed again.

"I know you want to protect him Bruce. Believe me, I can't even begin to imagine what he's going through, but we will find him."

"So you've told me, over and over again. Yet the one with the x-ray vision and super hearing is just sitting here wasting time."

"Someone had to keep you here Bruce." Kent stood up preparing to leave; he could hear Commissioner Gordon waiting outside the room. "You would only be in the way if you tried to go out there. I know you probably won't, but please try to relax Bruce. You're going to get your son back safe and sound." He carefully patted his friend's shoulder. "I'll be back later to check on you."

* * *

Bruce's P.O.V.

The injured billionaire watched him go and the police commissioner enter.

"Hello Jim," he greeted quietly. As much as he wanted to be out of the place and out on the streets looking for his son, he was still sane enough to understand that he need to act more like Bruce when Gordon was in the room.

"Hey Bruce," he replied as he took a seat in the recently vacated chair. If the situation hadn't been so dire Wayne might have cracked a smile at the comical difference between Kent's and Gordon's physical statures.

The commissioner ran a nervous hand through his disheveled hair and looked at his friend for long moment.

"I'm so sorry Bruce. If I had actually put more stake into the tip about Dent…I sent someone to the Manor to watch…" the man sighed. "I don't know what happened," he admitted, dropping his weary eyes to the floor.

"It's not your fault Jim. I don't think any of us really believed that Harvey would come back for Carter. Not after all these years." Bruce looked out the window. He had believed that Dent would come for his son.

"I'm the commissioner of police and look what happens on my watch. You get shot, almost die, and your son, a kid who I think of as a son, gets kidnapped and taken to God-knows-where." The man let out another sigh and stood up. "I'm going to make it right Bruce." He walked towards the exit, pausing in the door way. "We'll find your son. I promise I'll get him back if it's the last thing I do." Gordon gave a sort of awkward nod and left the room.

Bruce slammed a fist into the bed. All these people promising they'd bring him back his son and he was here unable to do a damn thing to help. What about his promise to Carter? He'd sworn to his son a very long time ago that he would never let what happened with Dent happen again.

_Bruce held the sleeping boy close to his chest, gently rubbing his back, trying in some way to soothe an unrelenting pain. He couldn't bring himself to let go of the boy after Commissioner Gordon had brought him back from the hands of the crazed Harvey Dent. _

_The eight year old hiccupped again and buried his tearstained face farther into his father's shirt. _

"_It's all right buddy. You're safe now. Try to sleep," Bruce said in a hushed voice. Carter wriggled around for a while longer and then finally stilled, his breath evening out. Bruce knew it wouldn't last long, that the nightmares would start soon, but right now he was grateful for his son's peace._

_When the little boy started whimpering however Bruce's face hardened. He wanted nothing more than to take his son's pain away. The eldest Wayne gently placed a hand on his son's head, smoothing his dark hair._

"_I swear to you Carter, as long as I have the power I will never let anything hurt you like this again," he told the sleeping child._

Bruce gripped the bed sheet and gritted his teeth. How the hell was he supposed to keep that promise now?

* * *

**A/N: **Well, I hope you enjoyed this. I know it was kind of dark, and a lot of Bruce feeling sorry for himself, but I felt it was important in showing the depth of Carter and Bruce's relationship. I've already started the next chapter, so hopefully the wait on that one won't be so long. There are two chapters left (okay, so one and an epiloge)...at least that's how I've planned it. It might turn out longer. But anyway, keep an eye out for the conclusion. Please review and let me know what you thought!!


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Two months, wow. Ok, well I wouldn't be surprised if there is no one out there still reading this, but if there is then I thank you for sticking with me. Any way, I'm sure there are some mistakes, I will go through later and spruce it up, but for now, I really just want to get this posted. Ok, well all that's left after this is the epilouge and I promise that it will be up sometime in the next two weeks.  
As always, I own nothing (except Carter). Enjoy! And please, let me know what you think!!

* * *

Carter's P.O.V.

If it wasn't for the fact that he had just watched his father die, Carter would probably have been extremely unnerved by the room he was currently sitting it. As it was however, Carter had only barely registered the fact that this abandoned warehouse office had been arranged to look like his childhood bedroom.

Dent had shoved him in the room and stood in the doorway, watching for the boy's reaction. Carter stood silently in the middle of the room, not really seeing anything. Eventually the mad man grew impatient and left the room in an angry huff. A few minutes after he left Carter had moved and sat down on the faded, red racecar bed in the center of the room.

He hadn't moved from this spot; his hands curled into fists as he silently watched the door. Harvey was going to have to come back eventually and when he did, Carter was going to take him down.

Every time he closed his eyes he saw his dad falling to the ground, never to move again. The only family he had left was gone. Harvey had taken everything from him, and now Carter was just waiting to return the favor.

His dad had warned him countless times about revenge. About how it could consume a person and lead them to do horrible things, things they would later regret and would never be able to take back. And when Bruce told him that his mom had been the one to show him that, all of anger had melted from him.

Now however he didn't care. There was nothing left to care about, no one now to be disappointed in the things he did. He was alone, and it was Dent's fault.

Carter squeezed his fists tighter, his teeth grinding together at the thought. He was going to kill Harvey Dent the first chance he got.

* * *

Flash's P.O.V.

Wally wasn't sure anymore how many times he'd run around this town. He'd thought it would be easy to find his friend, but now he was beginning to think that Carter was gone forever.

The speedster let out another long sigh and headed back towards the narrows. Gotham City was a lot creepier than Flash had previously believed and he was getting tired.

"Would it kill these people to do something with all the scary, abandoned buildings in this city?" he grumbled, zipping quickly between the warehouses.

"This is the bad side of the city kid. People are too afraid to even set foot here, let alone renovate the place," GL replied. Flash hadn't expected anyone to answer; the question had been more rhetorical than anything else.

"Batman's not afraid and he's loaded. Why can't he do something about it?" Flash zipped in and out of another warehouse, feeling more and more disheartened each time he came out with nothing.

"I think all the crazy people in this place keep him a little too busy to worry about making the city more livable," Shayera retorted sarcastically. Wally glanced up into the sky, catching a glimpse of the winged hero flying over head. Judging by the harshness of her tone, he guessed that she wasn't having much luck either.

Wally had just run through the last warehouse on the small island when he noticed a building he hadn't seen on his previous trips. It was smaller than the rest, tucked away in the shadows of the old Arkham Asylum. The way the building was positioned, it looked to be a part of the old mental institution, but from his current position the red-clad hero could see that it was actually separate.

Flash sped into the warehouse, hope filling him once more. He had a feeling that this time he would not exit alone and dismayed.

* * *

Carter's P.O.V.

The young man watched as the knob turned and the door swung open slowly, but he didn't move. If he had learned anything from being Robin, it was that having a strategy, and surprising your enemy was the only sure fire way to win. He steeled himself, going over his plan one last time.

"Carter?" The voice was curious, friendly, and completely unexpected. And then, even more unexpected, Flash suddenly appeared in the doorway.

The young man in question blinked in surprise, staring uncomprehendingly at his friend. Flash wasn't supposed to be here. Harvey Dent was the one who should have been walking through that door.

"Dude, are you all right?" Wally asked, quickly untying the younger hero's hands. _No,_ Carter thought angrily. _You're ruining everything!_ But he remained silent; his stare focused once more on the doorway.

Flash looked out into the hallway as well. "Cater, I'll be right back, but just sit tight until then okay?" The raven haired boy didn't answer, but nor did he move. Flash took the stillness as a yes and hurried out the door.

As soon as the other hero was gone, Carter stood up and left the room. He was going to end Dent before he left here.

It wasn't hard to find the man. The gathering of superheroes in the room kind of gave it all away. He took in stock of the room from the shadowy hallway.

Dent was slumped against the opposite wall, maybe half conscious. Carter hoped so; he wanted Harvey to see it coming just like his dad had. Superman, GL, Flash and Shayera were off to the side discussing something Carter couldn't hear, but he didn't care to know what they were talking about anyway.

And ah, there it was…Harvey's gun. The weapon lay on the floor, close to the doorway. One of the Leaguers must have flung it that way during the fight and now that Harvey was incapacitated they no longer had reason to worry about it.

Carter sucked in a deep breath and crept into the room. Spending half his life stalking through the shadows had paid off.

None of the other heroes saw him pick the gun up off the floor. Nor did they notice as he crept closer to Dent until he was standing just a few feet away. He leveled the gun and waited until Harvey looked up to him.

"You're going to die now Dent," he snarled and pulled the trigger.

The bullet slammed into the wall, leaving a large, ragged hole mere inches above "two-face's" head.

Carter's eyes snapped from the hole to the startled face of the man next to him. Anger welled up inside him, this time not only directed at Harvey, but at Superman as well.

"What did you do?" the boy snarled, trying unsuccessfully to pry his wrist from they Kryptonian's vice-like grip. Clark frowned at the young man.

"What did I do? Carter, what were you doing?" Cater sent the man the nastiest glare he could manage and struggled harder to free his arm.

"He deserves to die!" The boy growled. Superman pulled Carter around to face him and then ripped the gun from his grasp.

"No, he doesn't," the older man replied firmly. Tears sprung into Carter's eyes and he blinked hard, trying to keep them bay.

"How can you say that? He…that man killed my dad," the young Wayne choked. "I won't just let him get away with that!"

"Carter," Clark said calmly, moving to put his hands and the boy's shoulders. "Your dad isn't dead. Bruce is in the hospital. The doctors say he's going to be fine."

Carter froze, staring at the hero in front of him. "What?" he breathed. Clark gave him a warm smile.

"Your dad is fine. He's been worried sick about you and trying to convince everyone he's all right enough to go out searching for you."

"So, Dad's really all right?"

"Well I don't know about that," Wally interjected with a sly smile. "I thought he was bad enough all ready, but jeez, that man is really grumpy when he's injured." Flash ruffled his friend's hair, grinning when Carter swatted his hand away in annoyance.

"Come on," Superman said as GL encased Harvey Dent in a green bubble. "We'll take you to see your dad." Carter nodded and let the big man lead the way out.


	9. Epilogue

Carter's P.O.V.

Carter stepped hesitantly into the hospital room. He had always hated hospitals and this time was no exception. The smell of too strong antiseptic and the impersonal white walls made him physically ill.

At this particular moment however, Carter was chalking his queasiness up to butterflies. Some part of him still couldn't believe that his dad was alive and just the thought of seeing Bruce lying in that hospital bed sent wings fluttering in a crazed frenzy.

When his eyes finally met another pair the exact shade of blue as his own the butterflies disappeared and a new emotion swept through him. His chest tightened painfully and his eyes began to sting, but he did his best to ignore them.

"Dad?" he choked.

* * *

Bruce's P.O.V.

Bruce's eyes raked over his son checking for injury before finally meeting Carter's once more.

"Are you all right?" he asked gruffly. Carter let out a strangled laugh and crossed the room in two long strides. For a moment he stood at the edge of the bed looking torn and then suddenly he was crawling up onto the bed, squeezing himself in next to his dad.

Bruce was a bit taken aback by how much Carter looked like a frightened eight year old again. He was even more so when the boy fisted a hand in Bruce's shirt and pressed his forehead to the older man's shoulder. Familiar guilt crashed over Bruce like a tidal wave.

"I'm sorry," he said placing a hand on Carter's arm.

The eighteen year old looked up at him with bright eyes.

"None of this was your fault, Dad."

"But–" Carter shook his head, his face set in determination.

"You can't protect me from everything. I know you want to, but you can't. And that's okay Dad. Really."

"As far as I'm concerned I've got the best dad in the world. I mean you're Batman. I really couldn't ask for a better protector." He gave Bruce a lopsided grin.

"Besides, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger right? From now on I'll just have to learn to be more paranoid like you." The eldest Wayne rolled his eyes.

"You've been spending far too much time with Wally," he groaned.

"You introduced us you know," Carter reminded him with a wicked grin.

"Which was probably the biggest mistake of my life," Bruce admitted with a small smile of his own.

"Mistake?!" Wally cried suddenly appearing in the room. "I thought you loved me!"

"If that's what you thought then you obviously have more wrong with your brain than I initially thought," Bruce replied.

"That hurts Bats," the red head replied with a dramatic sniffle.

Clark smiled at the scene from the door way. Things were back to normal, if only for a while.

* * *

**A/N:** And so we've come to the end of the tale. I hope everyone enjoyed this. I have plenty more ideas for Carter, believe me, but I think I'm probably going to stop here for a while. Busy heading off to college and whatnot. Any way, thank you again and don't forget to let me know what you thought!

~ thedriverpicksthemusic


End file.
